


Not a Spectator Sport

by BrilliantlyHorrid



Series: Time and place [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Bye bye hiatus, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Football Game, Making out is not a spectator sport, Undercover, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-19
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-08-15 23:07:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8076457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrilliantlyHorrid/pseuds/BrilliantlyHorrid
Summary: He’d been a SHIELD agent for a long time, feigned intimacy as a cover was common. There was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about this.Except that there absolutely was. And to even his own surprise, he was frozen.Lucky for Coulson, Daisy made the decision for him. Subtly yanking him into a standing position and wrapping an arm around his neck, she whispered “Work with me here.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> For the Bye Bye Hiatus prompt: "unresolved sexual tension." 
> 
> Mostly unresolved romantic tension, but unresolved nonetheless! Will be continued as part of a short series trying to work in more of these prompts.

“Daisy, they’re catching up,” Coulson warned as they pushed through the crowd. Someone had been going after the same lead as them, an Inhuman football player using his newfound skills to get ahead at the professional level. Ethically Coulson supposed there were some issues with it, but he was more concerned about the whole “possible government lackies swooping in to kidnap him for experiments” thing.

“ _Daisy_ ,” he said again, noticing the suits closing in. In this big a crowd there was no way to fight them without causing a scene or anyone getting hurt. And being escorted out was unlikely to set off any alarm bells among the spectators, so they needed to get away from there. Fast.

“I know, I know,” she said, in her ‘shut up and let me think,’ voice. “Mack and Yo Yo got him out already, right?”

Phil took another glance at the sidelines, noticing the missing player (and confused coaches.) “Yeah, they’re out.”

“Okay, okay,” Daisy said, looking around them. They’d reached the ramp to exit the seating area of the stadium, in clear view of the field when Daisy stopped completely.

“What are you doing?” Phil asked, looking at their options. Running on the field and getting tackled by security? They would be handed over to the “official” government employees with badges (and weapons) immediately. They could try their hand at navigating the lower levels of the stadium, but who knows where 'backup' was hiding?

Looking over his shoulder, he saw the enemy agents, ready to close in.

 _Daisy, what’s your plan?_ He was about to warn her again and make the decision for them when he felt her press something into his palm.

“ _Down!_ ” She whispered, and Phil worried there would be gunfire until she shoved his shoulder down sharply, until he was forced to take a knee.

_What the hell is she doing?_

Suddenly Daisy gasped loudly and clasped her hands over her mouth. Next to them, a woman screamed.

Phil looked down, at the small object she had given him. More people around them began to yell and cheer, and when he saw the two of them appear on the Jumbotron out of the corner of his eye, his agent mind finally put two and two together. Daisy stared at him pointedly, still covering her mouth (and the entire lower half of her face) and he held up the simple ring that she had been wearing all day.

“...Marry me?” He croaked out, a bit overwhelmed. But not overwhelmed enough to miss how effective the plan was; almost every person in that stadium was looking at them right now, and he could feel the agents who had been pursuing them slink off into the background.

Daisy nodded quickly, giving him her left hand and the spectators erupted, drunken, jersey-clad strangers patting him on the back as he awkwardly slid the ring on her finger. It had been on her other hand before, he was pretty sure. Just a silver band with a dark colored stone, almost black. It hardly looked like an engagement ring, but then again they hardly looked like a couple, didn't they?

He seemed to be taking too long wondering what he was meant to do next, because suddenly one football fan started chanting “KISS HER,” and surely enough a sizeable crowd joined in.  

Maybe the plan wasn’t perfect after all.

He’d been a SHIELD agent for a long time, feigned intimacy as a cover was common. There was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about this. Except that there absolutely was. And to even his own surprise, he was frozen.

Lucky for Coulson, Daisy made the decision for him. Subtly yanking him into a standing position and wrapping an arm around his neck, she whispered “ _Work with me here_.”

“Sorry,” Phil muttered, hooking an arm around her waist and quickly pulling her in for a kiss.  The crowd went wild, and he saw one of the many cameras move in. Not breaking the kiss--he was _kissing Daisy_ in the middle of a football game, _what_?-- he placed his hand on her cheek, obstructing the camera’s view _just_ enough.  

Phil Coulson had never made out with someone while surrounded by people jumping up and cheering, at least not literally. It made it a bit hard to tell how he felt about this. It was weird, sure, but also nice in a way he hadn’t expected. But was that the kiss, or just the fact that everyone around them seemed so elated? It was like, if someone said they saw fireworks during a kiss, but there were also literal fireworks happening around them. Which was it? Was the kiss _that_ good or was it just the setting making it seem that way?

All he knew was that his tongue had somehow made its way into Daisy’s mouth and she wasn’t running away screaming or objecting in any way, and that wasn’t something he was prepared to deal with.

After a while Coulson felt a tap on his shoulder, and a few spectators around them let out disappointed “awww” noises.

“Give them some room people,” a deep, familiar voice said. Coulson pulled away, and he and Daisy sort of just stared at each other for a few awkward moments, arms still tightly wrapped around each other. “Congratulations, the team has something for you if you’ll come with me.” The two separated slightly, looking up at Mack. Maybe Phil was projecting, but he thought they both must have looked a little dazed. “This way,” Mack said pointedly, giving a nod to a couple other men wearing the same branded shirts of the home team security that he had somehow acquired.

As they walked down the ramp, Daisy waving cheerfully now that the cameras were no longer paying them any attention, the crowd around them seemed a little sad to see them go. Then someone yelled “Let’s get back to some FOOTBALL!” and the cheering resumed.

“So,” Mack said, leading them through the ‘employees only’ tunnels under the stadium, “when’s the engagement party?”

“Okay,” Coulson protested. They weren’t in the clear yet, and there would be plenty of time to tease once they were all safe. Although he hoped it would be kept to a minimum. 

“Not so fast Phil, we just might get a toaster oven out of this,” Daisy said, casually clapping him on the shoulder like she hadn’t just kissed him senseless in front of thousands of people.

_Millions, if we made it on air._

The director was going to have a field day with that when they got back.

“You’ll get a set of dish towels out of me at the most,” Mack shot back and Daisy grinned.

“I’ll keep that in mind should any special occasions arise for you any time soon, you know,” she said, and Mack gave her a warning look.

“Are you getting married?” Phil blurted out, and both Daisy and Mack turned to stare at him.

“Let’s just go.”

***

“We were out of options,” Coulson explained, trying to appeal to a very annoyed SHIELD director who wasn’t having it.

“Besides, no one watches the Vikings,” Daisy added, not really helping. The director’s impatience and strictness with Daisy was hardly fair, but she wasn’t exactly trying to win him over. (Which was completely fair, in his opinion.)

“Just get out, and try to stay off national television,” he muttered, waving them toward the door. They took their cue to leave and Coulson eagerly headed to a long awaited shower and night's sleep in his own bed. And some time alone.

“Hey.”

Maybe not just yet.

He didn’t stop walking, but looked over at Daisy who had moved alongside him. “What can I do for you, Agent Johnson?” Was he panicking? Maybe just a little.

“Oh, I don’t know, Agent Coulson,” she said, mocking his tone a little bit. She looked at him, amused, but dropped it when he just kept on moving. He wasn’t trying to be cruel, but ever since they got back on the quinjet (ever since she kissed him) he’d felt a little disoriented. “You’re not annoyed with me for doing my job, are you?” She asked, no small amount of irritation in her voice.

“I’m not annoyed, Daisy,” he said, but could practically feel her raised eyebrows staring down the side of his head. He stopped. “I’m sorry,” he tried again, and Daisy waited patiently, crossing her arms. Her hand caught his attention. “You’re still wearing that?”

“Well, it _is_ my ring,” Daisy answered, looking at her hand.

“Yeah, but isn’t it usually--” he gestured vaguely, at any of her other nine fingers it could be on.

There was something challenging in her gaze, like she knew something he didn’t, and that made him nervous.

“I hear you get better customer service when you have one of these,” she said, wiggling her finger pointedly. “Plus, maybe now dudes will leave me alone in bars.”

Coulson shook his head, resuming his walk. “I think you overestimate ‘dudes,’” he said, and how much time did she get to spend in bars anyway? Coulson hadn't been out off the clock in ages. Daisy let out a quiet little chuckle.

“You’re probably right,” She agreed. “It’ll only scare away good ones.” They reached her bunk and she stopped, shoving her hands in her pockets. “I mean, if I were even looking for that right now. I’d probably want one of those. One of the good ones.” She gave him a meaningful look, and Phil swallowed nervously.

What was he, a teenager all of a sudden? But this was important. This was _Daisy,_ he couldn’t afford to mess it up.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, convinced as soon as the words left his mouth that he had indeed messed it up. But Daisy smiled, giving him another pat on the arm before turning and walking through her door.

Once it was closed Phil walked to his room, feet dragging. What did he mean by that, 'I'll keep that in mind?' Whatever the intent, Daisy seemed to approve, which was confusing. ' _If I were even looking for that right now.'_ That meant she wasn't, right? Daisy had been through a lot, and even though things seemed to be back to normal, and maybe if she did seem ready to start something new, he couldn't assume. 

But the kiss. It was good, right? He hadn't just imagined that? He was about to close the door to his bunk when he heard faint cheers. For a moment he wondered if it was actually happening in his mind this time, but then realized it was coming from the common room. Someone had recorded the game, and was replaying the fake out proposal. Part of him wanted to go shut the TV off and erase the recording before Daisy or anyone else could see it. The other part wanted to watch, see it from an outsider’s perspective. As the crowd began the familiar chant of “KISS HER,” he shut his door.

 _Not yet,_  he thought. He needed more time to think, and be absolutely certain before diving into anything. He needed to know that’s what he wanted, and what she wanted, and that it wasn’t just the result of a dramatic, romantic moment during a time both of their lives were lacking in romance.

That’s what a good guy would do, right?


End file.
